There is a current deficit of 4500 beds for seniors in Portugal
The country needs another 4,500 beds to meet the third needs of the elderly population, points out to Associação Mutualista Montepio (AMM), the entity responsible for the largest private offer for the elderly in Portugal. The sector has a capacity of 102,555 beds, spread over 2,540 senior residences, a number that both operators and market analysts clearly express when Portugal has 2.4 million people and today more than 65 years old or more than 700 thousand over 80 “There is really a lack of beds”, emphasizes an official source of the AMM. The Informa D&B report on this activity shows that, in March, the occupancy rate of Portuguese homes was 91%. Without solutions, the problem will only get worse every year.
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The national demographic reality leaves no room for doubt. The population is aging, life expectancy is increasing, but also health problems and dementia, factors that will pressure the creation of private and social responses. AMM’s needs point out that the current deficit should increase to 24 thousand by 2050. But investment in this area faces difficulties. As highlighted by Ricardo Reis, partner and director of evaluation & advice at Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), “the monthly fee in a private residence is around 1500 to 20 euros – there are more expensive – and the Portuguese don’t have the money to pay these prices”.
This is an indisputable statement when it is known that a pension paid by Social Security is less than 500 euros and the Caixa Geral de Aposentações is around 1300 euros.
Also AMM that new projects in this sector “have to be analyzed for the financial capacity of resources of the current public is remembered and the panorama of current human resources”. Aware that there is a high expansion of the offer of people in Residential Structures (ERPI), of integrated continuous care and mental health, the mutual association to study the Residency network. It is currently responsible for eight units, with a total of 1102 beds, of which 527 are part of the National Network of Continuing Integrated Care, of a public nature. The offer for private customers (575) includes daily medical services, permanent nursing, meals, maintenance gym, entertainment activities, room facilities, terrace garden, among others. To these services the institution still has the possibility, services, hairdresser, podiatrist… Monthly fee based on physiotherapy is 1750 euros.
Although the value for the monthly residence of accommodation is accommodation for most Portuguese, private operators, particularly international ones, have been banning betting on the Portuguese market. It is the framework that the population undermined by institutions such as the state and non-profit institutions such as the IPSS and non-profit institutions.
According to the most recent analysis of Informa D&B, residency in Portugal, where 72,263 seats, where AMM also pontificates, followed by the French Orpea, the Naturidade group and DomusVi have in Portugal via contracts. In the accumulated, these 772 homes earned 380 million euros last year, an increase of 7% compared to 2020. Non-profit, the market registers 1768 homes, with a total of 78,292 beds, and in this last segment stands out as 502 units belonging to the Misericórdias.
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For Ricardo Reis, this context creates investment opportunities, but for the private sector to increase the offer of support to its state partners. The consulting specialist advocates solutions such as incentives for operators, in municipalities to create areas of construction of planned projects for real estate support units, in which the total state or support resources and a redefinition of the support limit beds per home, which currently cannot rise to 120 and limit the profitability of the operation. Especially because, to defend, it is necessary to make these projects attractive, as they require large investments.
At the same time, it advocates a change in mentality. “In Europe, especially further north, there is no need to sell the house to pay for assisted living”, she says, and this can be a solution to an old age worthy of many Portuguese. And now the Portuguese market also has a number of foreigners residing in the country, almost 700 thousand and these most important of 67 thousand years, who may need assisted care, still remembered.
Data from the Lisbon district concentrates the largest private offer in the country, with 1898, followed by Porto, with 711, Setúbal, with 603, Aveiro, with 322 and Coimbra, with 287.